The quality of Lake Huron water can change dramatically day to day, hour to hour or even minute to minute with either heavy rainfall or high wave action or both. The Huron County Health Unit encourages recreational users of Lake Huron to read the signs to reduce health risks and not to swim if:

• You can't see your feet when standing in waist deep water and/or
• A heavy rainfall event two days prior to swimming.

The Health Unit regularly samples 14 public lakeshore beaches during June, July and August. It takes approximately 24 hours to receive the previous day water testing results from the laboratory (E.coli takes 18-24 hours to incubate and culture). By then the water may have changed to either safe or unsafe for swimming. It is for this reason, and based on several years of consistent water sampling data, that the Huron County Health Unit posts beaches on a seasonal average.

The public should not swim if the water is cloudy due to high wave action or following a heavy rainfall. This can be an indicator of high levels of bacteria in the water which may pose a risk to human health. The current E.coli test is only an indicator that there is fecal contamination present from either animal, human or both and that there could be other harmful bacteria, parasites and viruses present in the water.

To assist the public with determining if it is safe to swim, all of the Huron County public swimming locations have been posted with a sign providing the Health Unit website address and telephone infoline and each location has a volunteer rainfall monitor. The Beach Water Infoline is updated within hours of a heavy rainfall.

NOTE: The Health Unit only samples lake water at a number of public beaches along the Lake Huron shoreline. We do not test other bodies of water (rivers, ravines, gullies, dams) that may be used for recreational purposes and therefore have no information on these sites' water quality. Residents should be aware these areas could be unsafe for swimming.